Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
I went to a cabinet where I kept a Bluetooth speaker, a small refrigerator full of water and sports drinks, and every other necessity I needed when I was out there. I found the ointment and took it back to Antonia, who hadn’t moved.
She looked utterly defeated. Her shoulders sagged, and she slouched. The hazel eyes that I couldn’t get enough of looked lifeless.
I applied the ointment to each knuckle carefully. “You might bruise.”
“I don’t care.”
This much I knew. After I finished, I contemplated throwing the ointment toward the counter because I didn’t want to let go of her hands. Sadly, I did the right thing and walked away from her.
My timing was horrible, but that was what I got for staying out of the dating game for so long. Also, my flirting game thoroughly sucked. I’d started the second I could with her, but it had taken Miriam and the others to tell her the dinner we’d had was, in fact, a date.
Short of asking her to be my girlfriend, like the boys at school did, I didn’t know what else to do to get my feelings across. She already knew I liked her, but did she understand how much? Did she know I wanted to be there for her?
Was I a fool for thinking she didn’t need time to grieve her previous relationship? Probably, but patience had never been my strong suit.
I lingered at the counter, unable to face her with the myriad of thoughts running through my mind. I heard her breath hitch, a choked sob escaping before she could stifle it.
The sound shattered me.
I turned just as her legs gave out, her body crumbling to the floor. I was there before she hit the ground, my arms wrapping around her, pulling her against my chest. She trembled violently, her fingers clutching at my shirt as though she were drowning and I was her only lifeline.
“She’s gone,” she whispered, her voice breaking, raw with agony. “I don’t know how to do this without her. I’ve never done this life without her.”
Her pain was palpable, suffocating. I held her tighter, my fingers threading through her hair as I rocked her gently, murmuring words of comfort that felt hollow even to my own ears. I wanted to take her pain away, to breathe life back into those hazel eyes that still looked so vacant.
She looked up at me, her face streaked with tears, eyes searching mine as if trying to find something to anchor herself with. Her gaze dropped to my mouth, lingering.
Time stood still. I could feel the thud of my heartbeat, heavy and insistent, as she leaned up, her lips brushing mine softly at first, a question, a plea.
And then she kissed me again, harder, her fingers tangling in my hair, pulling me closer. Her desperation was palpable, a storm crashing through her, and I was caught in its wake, powerless to resist.
“Antonia . . .” Her name came out as a rasp, half a plea, half a warning, but she silenced me with her mouth, her lips insistent, bruising. Her body pressed against mine, warm and trembling, her need igniting something fierce and primal inside me.
“Please, Weston. Help me forget.”
I lifted her, her legs wrapping around my waist as I carried her to the padded bench, never breaking the kiss. Her fingers slid under my shirt, her touch hot and urgent, her nails dragging across my skin, leaving trails of fire in their wake.
She needed this—needed me. And I was powerless to deny her.
I laid her down, my body pressing against hers, fitting perfectly, like she’d been made for me. Her back arched, a breathless moan escaping her lips as I kissed my way down her neck, tasting the salt of her tears. Her skin was soft, electric. Every touch, every movement a spark that threatened to consume us both.
Her fingers gripped my shoulders, holding on like she was afraid to let go. Her hips moved against mine, a desperate rhythm that shattered my restraint. I groaned, my mouth finding hers again, our kisses fierce and consuming, tongues tangling as we lost ourselves in each other.
She was fire and need, raw and beautiful in her vulnerability, and I wanted to give her everything, to take away her pain, even if only for a moment.
Our clothes fell away, piece by piece, barriers dissolving as skin met skin, hot and slick. Her body arched beneath mine, her breath ragged, her eyes locked on mine, pleading, needing.
I whispered her name, my voice breaking, my hands caressing every curve, every hollow, memorizing the feel of her, the taste of her. She responded with a fierceness that took my breath away, her body moving with mine, meeting every thrust, every touch with an intensity that left me reeling.
We moved together, a perfect, desperate rhythm, her nails digging into my back, her cries muffled against my shoulder. She shattered in my arms, her body trembling, her name a broken whisper on my lips as I followed her over the edge.